Beyond Redemption by Michael R. Fletcher Read Free Book Online Page B

I will be gentle—”
    â€œYou.”
    Konig cursed inwardly. How had that slipped out? He bent until his eyes were on a level with the boy’s, forced his will upon the child’s young mind. He must see it my way . “Who else could I trust?”
    For an instant doubt flashed across the boy’s face. “True,” Morgen finally agreed. “Only someone with the best interest of the Geborene at heart must help me Ascend. Otherwise—”
    â€œYes.” Konig didn’t want the boy examining this too closely. Contemplation might lead to doubt and that was something Konig could ill afford in his would-be god.
    Morgen offered an awkward smile. “I’m glad it will be you. Aufschlag would never forgive himself.”
    Which is his greatest weakness . Konig offered a hand to the lad, did his best to make his flat gray eyes warm and caring. You must love me . “Now come,” he said, “give me a hug.”
    Morgen dove into Konig’s arms and he awkwardly tussled the boy’s hair. Parenting was not something he had expected to do when he took on the mantle of High Priest.
    â€œI won’t let you down.” The boy’s voice was muffled in the fabric of Konig’s robes.
    â€œI know. You’ll make me proud.”
    â€œI’ll be a good god. I’ll bring back empire like you want.”
    He stroked the boy’s fine blond hair. “I know.”
    KONIG, LOST IN thought, stalked the oddly shaped and twisting halls of the Geborene church. Acolytes scrambled from his path, pressing themselves to the walls as if they sought to crush themselves flat.
    Morgen had been too close to an uncomfortable truth: Only someone with the best interest of the Geborene at heart must help me Ascend. The child would never understand, it wasn’t that simple. Where did Konig end and the Geborene Damonenbegin? Without him at the helm the church would surely falter and fail.
    The boy must die by my hand. Those whom you slay serve in the Afterdeath. If all else failed, that truth would be his escape. The new god would serve, would save him from his demons.
    Can you do it? Can you kill a child? Yes; yes, he could. In ordering Aufschlag’s experiments, he’d been responsible for countless deaths. But you’ve never actually slain anyone before, not really . He’d never used a blade to cut flesh, never choked life from a throat. Could he poison the boy? If I did, would the boy still serve in the Afterdeath? Would Konig have killed Morgen, or would the poison have killed him? It was the sort of annoying question philosophers could discuss for years and never answer. Was poisoning different from killing someone with a knife? Were these just two different weapons? It felt different. Poison felt distancing. Perhaps among the tediously sane beliefs of the masses there could be one answer. The strength of Konig’s delusions, however, defined his reality. The truth was, he believed it mattered.
    And that was all that mattered.
    KONIG RETURNED TO his chambers to find his three Doppels waiting. Abandonment sat in the high-backed chair Konig used when receiving important guests. Trepidation and Acceptance stood to either side of the chair.
    This arrangement reveals much. I must watch Abandonment carefully. How long have they been here plotting?
    Abandonment spoke first. “We have not been sitting here, planning to harm you. We are the only ones who will never abandon you. We can’t.”
    Konig snorted. “I haven’t suddenly grown daft in the last hour. Save your talk.”
    â€œMorgen loves us,” said Acceptance quietly. “He loves us and we will do him harm. The one person who ever loved us.”
    â€œHe’ll abandon us,” Abandonment snapped at Acceptance. “Like everyone else, you pathetic worm. Morgen is a tool to be used and nothing more. We will pretend to love him as long as it suits us.”
    Acceptance met